S1: Hey there , San Diego. It's Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman on today's show. The new events , plays and music sparking San Diego's arts and culture scene. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. In Daejeon is returning for its second year , with a focus on connecting indigenous creators and celebrating stories past , present and future. I'm here now with Johnny Bear Contreras. He's a public artist and founder of the Yagan Foundation. Johnny , welcome back to the show.
S2: Thank you for having me.
S1: Kalika and Shay Lowery , executive director of the Indigenous Futures Institute , is also here. He's a comic book creator and publisher as well. Che , welcome to you. Yes.
S3: Yes. Thank you. I appreciate being here.
S1: Well , great to have you both here. I mean , I don't know if this is the , you know , about to start the second year of indigeneity. I just want to get some quick thoughts.
S2:
S1: We'll talk more about it.
S3: I deeply appreciate that. Uh , the local tribe , um , that is going to host us is , uh , the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians. This is the first indication to occur where a tribal government and community is hosting us.
S1: So , yeah , let's go back to last year. That was , you know , the first the first con here.
S3: I really appreciate Johnny Bear and our friend Mike Towery , who have really laid.
S1: From San Diego Comic-Con. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Mister Towery is one of the founders of the Big Comic Con , and both these gentlemen have really done a lot to reach out and uplift other artists and writers , especially native community members. And when you have these types of good , strong events , they're just so much more powerful when you can bring in younger generations and when you can bring in especially native community members from multiple tribes and cultures. And so I really appreciate Johnny in particular , because , you know , he's from the Kumeyaay Nation here. And to have him as a host and a guide , because I'm not I'm native , but I'm not from here. So I'm a guest. And so to have him guide me and the rest of us in this work is pretty special.
S1:
S2: the second installment , the the second happening. Uh , as always , you know , you get a little anxiety , you know , hoping folks are going to make it out and then.
S1: Juggling a lot of stuff.
S2: That's it. And the ones that do , you know , you're you're hoping that they're going to find everything that they're there , they're coming for. Um , but to kind of go off of what , uh , Chegg was just , uh , expressing , um , it's exciting to be in the position to make these kind of offerings because it's not just about the sequential art and the art in general. We're calling this Creator Symposium. So you don't already have to have something set. You don't have to be crazy familiar with what the process is. We want you to come introduce yourselves to that creative process and the fact that it's on Rincon Reservation at Harrah's Casino , which if they've just gone out of their way for us. Um , I'm actually from San Pasqual Reservation. We sit side by side. Each. I'm Kumeyaay , they're there. Well , you know the Kumeyaay Nation here , here in San Diego , which are 13 bands. So what's really cool , which is happening for the first time as as Chegg mentioned , we're combining with another band and that and the whole indigenous , you know , um , Boulder globe. That's a big thing. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And , you know , covering a lot in this , you mentioned sequential art , something I think , you know , you've spoken about on the show before. But , Jake , tell us , you know what that you know.
S3: And that's what indigenous creative people have done since time immemorial. So as native people , we are incorporating the modern comic book format as well as film because we do have some filmmakers , some documentary makers who are presenting and other artists to talk about how to use sequential imagery in a way to tell your story. And our people , our basket weavers , traditional architects in ceremony. There's movement , there's color , there's place. Everything has a purpose and there are steps to it. And within the disciplines of those artistic endeavors , that's where I go back to the mentorship that needs to take place so that more and more Young people especially can feel included in the process. And that's why , as a creators symposium , this is very special and it's a little different than the first in Daejeon.
S1: Johnny , you know , the convention is is focused on meeting tradition and futurism. I'm wondering if you can break that down for us and what that looks like for you.
S2: Well , you know , as we mentioned earlier , I've been a public artist since 96 , been a professional. And through those decades I've reached in to some of our most grounding stories. I stay away from saying sacred , but but it is a sacred process. You know , creation comes from the creator. And when we have all these underlying tones and ideas , when we're able to bring it to fruition , be it in song , be in a sequential art , dance , painter , sculptor , any of any of those particular , uh , formats , uh , that's what is really connecting us back to the processes.
S1: And , you know , um , Andijan has really strong roots in San Diego Comic-Con. We were talking about it before there. In fact , you'll be having the co-founder this year , Mike Towery , who we mentioned earlier. Yes. You know , talk more about the relationship there and how you're continuing to build community with that convention change or go ahead. Sorry , Johnny Burke , go ahead.
S4: Oh , yeah. Yeah.
S2: You know , we could both read off. It'd be as if we're reading off the same menu. Uh , we met because of Comic-Con and something that Mike was also doing , uh , which was Comic Fest , which was much more casual than Comic-Con. And and that's what we're hoping that we're going to create that , that foundation and have it go forward , just like Comic-Con has. You know , we're small. We're we're in the beginning stages. And that's why we're calling it a creator symposium , because we want folks to come out and meet some of the folks from Comic-Con. Last year we did it during Comic-Con and a lot of folks weren't able to participate. A lot of the professionals that would normally , you know , be part of this whole process. And would you like to add to that check ? Sure.
S3: You know , this is definitely a community oriented version of In Danger Con. And I think the hope is that we continue to partner with local tribes , especially in a host , more of these types of events. Uh , this coming Saturday is , you know , from 9 a.m. to around 6 p.m. but I know you know , Johnny and I and Aloha est al , who I need to mention because I greatly appreciate all of her efforts in putting this together. But we've talked about , you know , building this to maybe two or a three day version , but we can also have different indications throughout the year. If the community lets us know that that's what they would like. So it's really special , I think , to keep working with Johnny and because we talk , I think as friends and fellow artists and writers , and it's really cool to envision with him , uh , you need those kind of community members who , you know , are brave and daring and will say , yeah , let's , let's try this. Let's go for it , see what happens , see how the community gets together. And that's the really special thing , I think , within native communities is because we will get together. We will have some amazing presenters and artists on Saturday who are going to share very special creative processes and work.
S1: Let's talk more about some of those creators and artists. Johnny , tell us more about who you're excited to see.
S2: Well , I'm always excited to share space with Chegg here because he has several animated comics that are just incredible. Starting with Unknown Soldier , um , a couple of basket Weavers really brings some of the northern aspects of the culture to life. Um , and especially in this region , because , uh , environmentally , our regions differ. It gets a little colder up north. You can't wear shorts all year long. Right. Not like San Diego. It gets it gets a little breezy.
S5: We're like , what ? I have to wear pants.
S2: I really want to put a shout out to , um , all the other traditional folk out there. Um , the individuals from the different bands , uh , the people that are familiar with folks that are from the bands around in general. Because this is about tradition , this is how we do it. We come. There will be.
S5: There always has to be food. There always has to be food.
S2: At traditional gatherings , it's offered. It's given in a good way. And in in fundamentally , that's what this is about. It's bringing us together as a people , all indigenous people. Everybody is welcome. But we're going to put our stories in a place , and we're going to hear from individuals that are endeavoring to do that through lots of different disciplines.
S1:
S3: Uh , there are three ladies who created a short film based on the MI Women's Poetry anthology. Camry , David. Camry. Davalos , Alexis. Manoah. Dyer and Malina. Dusk. Those three are all local , from Pachanga or from Rincon. And they are presenting. I will be on a panel with the artist Zulema Reynoso , who is a fantastic comic book creator and a new young , up and coming artist. Her name is Chumash Duro. She's 13 years old. Tremendously talented , and I know Johnny can probably name drop some more of the local artists and writers here , but it's really cool because there's such a mix by generation , by culture , and by a tribal community that we're going to have on Saturday.
S1: And , Jake , you're also are on a panel. Write about advocacy.
S3: I'm going to be asking them the questions because I admire , you know , their advocacy work to create a platform for other artists. You know , it's really cool as an individual artist to , you know , you got to do what you got to do to get your work out there to promote , to be creative , to get into gallery space or public space to share your work. But what both those gentlemen have done is that they've created space for other people and for other community members , and there's an element of advocacy that needs to happen. In other words , like how do they approach community groups ? How do they approach the city ? How do you approach , uh , you know , councils , uh , in order to convey that , you know , this work is important , that it helps our community in so many ways. And so I'm looking forward to , you know , listening and learning from how they've done it over the years.
S1: And Johnny , speaking of , you know , advocacy , another panel you'll be speaking at is around a play you were involved in about the Tijuana River Valley. I'm just wondering if you can talk a little about how you approach creating artwork , you know , around such an important issue , you know , around environmental stewardship in this case. But like , you know , do you approach that differently than a different kind of artistic endeavor ? You know.
S2: I'd like to.
S5: Say that I.
S2: Do , but it's all interconnected. It's all intertwined. You know , when we drive down our freeways , our roads , when we go to our water's edge and we and we , we appreciate clean water , you know , we we inhale , you know , fresh air. And we , we need to be that needs to resonate with us. That's that's where my creation comes from are those natural elements. So when we talk about the Tijuana estuary and some of the issues that we're facing there , along with the air pollution at San Ysidro. I was part of a Far south Border North initiative in 2023 , and that's where we first did the play , Somos Agra. And soon after that , with the help of the Press Foundation , we did a second play that was based on the Tijuana estuary and some of the the layers , the stories , the traditional Kumeyaay stories , along with Okuma , because it's a tri national effort there at the estuary. All these elements came together and as I mentioned , the tribal council process , you know , the the doors we go through in order to bring these things to culmination. But I really want people to come out to , to Rincon because you have Pechanga , Rincon , San Pasqual and Barona because Ethan Venegas is from Barona , and he's also a professor here at Sdsu. Yes , yes. And I mean , Sdsu has really been rocking it. I mean , you know , an 80s tour.
S5: Yes , I would 80 , I would 80 style.
S2: Um , and so I want people really to come out and get their creative on.
S1: Well , we're going to have to leave it there. But I want to thank both of my guests , Johnny Bear Contreras , public artist and founder of the Johan Foundation. Johnny. Thanks so much for being here and good luck with this year's festival.
S5: Thank you.
S1: And Chad Lowery , executive director of the Indigenous Futures Institute. Chegg , thanks so much for being here. Yes.
S3: Yes. Thank you.
S1: The second annual and Dogecoin Creator Symposiums taking place this Saturday , February 7th at Harrah's Resort in Valley Center. You can find a link in more details at our website , pbs.org. Coming up , we explore why Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler still connects with audiences today.
S6: I think that female rage resonates Time and time again.
S1: Right here. More when Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler premiered all the way back in 1891. Its female protagonist sparked controversy for defying 19th century norms and societal expectations for women. The proto feminist play has inspired nearly two dozen film and television adaptations and countless theater productions. Now , the Old Globe Theatre has commissioned a new translation of the play to speak more directly to a contemporary audience. KPBS Arts reporter Beth Accomando explores the play's continued relevance with director Barry Edelstein. Actress Katie Holmes , who plays Hedda and Erin. Cressida Wilson , who penned this latest adaptation.
S7: Just last year , we had a new film version of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler , starring Tessa Thompson and directed by Nia DaCosta. Now , Katie Holmes tackles the title role for the old Globe Theatre , and she says it's clear why the play continues to speak to audiences , especially women.
S6: I think that female rage resonates , haha.
S7:
S6: And I think that this character is one that speaks to all women. There's pieces of her experience on that stage , I think , that are very relatable emotionally. Obviously , there's a lot of big metaphors and a lot of actions that seem demonic , but what we've tried to do is give perspective on her perspective.
S7: Erin Cressida Wilson adds that in some ways little has changed since the 1890s.
S8: I think that we think that we've come so far as women and we have , but we all know that we also have not at all , and particularly with me too , with people coming out and speaking their truth. I think that we all relate to Hedda Gabler. Part of it is that she has complex desires and we relate to that , and we relate also to the world saying , you're not supposed to be that complex. You just did one thing. Why are you now doing another thing ? So that's why I call it the kaleidoscope of Hedda. And we're all so hard to pin down.
S7:
S9: So the play was written in Norwegian , and it's very typical in the world theatre and the globe has done this , that when you work on a play written in a foreign language , you make a new translation that reflects the contemporary use of the English language. There are a million translations of Ibsen and of Hedda Gabler. You know , it was premiered in England in the 1890s and in New York early in the 20th century. So there are many , many English translations. They tend to all originate from an Edwardian Victorian sensibility , and they feel very barnacles and dusty from from our perspective now. And when you talk to people who speak Norwegian , they say , no , there's something blunt about Ibsen's language , something frank about the way he writes that these translations just don't communicate. So I felt it would be wonderful to get a contemporary playwright to make a new version of it. Her name is Erin Cressida Wilson , a dear friend of mine. We were contemporaries in the New York theatre in the 90s , and I asked her if this would be something she'd be interested in , and we talked about doing it 20 years ago when I was running a theater in New York , and we just couldn't get it to work , so she jumped on board. We provided her with a literal translation from the Norwegian , heavily annotated. And so she used that and kind of made it her own , in a sense. But it's very much Ibsen's play , thought for thought , line for line. It's just been filtered through the sensibility of this particular writer at this moment.
S10: And we just last year had a film version , a new film version of Hedda Gabler.
S9: He was the first writer to bring psychological realism onto the stage in a way that we now recognize in , you know , when we're watching The Sopranos or something like that , recognizable people that are not kings and queens that are not speaking in big oratory and grandiloquent sort of ways , but just regular folks dealing with regular problems , people who are struggling , people who are difficult , people who change their minds. People who are trying to figure out their place in the bigger world. And Hedda Gabler is one of his masterpieces that comes from near the end of his writing life , and it endures. It's just a great play. It towers over world literature in particular , because the central part is for great actresses. It's kind of the the female hamlet in many ways , the contemporary female hamlet. Now , why is that ? Well , it's a play that's about a woman trying to navigate the patriarchy in a very specific way pertinent to that period. And Ibsen is known for his early feminist views , proto feminist views. It's a it's very much a feminist play about a woman whose options are circumscribed in a world of men and the behaviors she is then driven to in order to survive. But 150 years later , while the patriarchy is still very much in force and apparently on the rise at this particular moment in ways that none of us might have anticipated , it's also true that women have a kind of agency and freedom and power in the world that are that women who are heads of state and heads of corporations. It's not the same world as Norway in 1891. So the plays center kind of shifts to a bigger idea about an idiosyncratic personality , a personality that's larger than the world she lives in. Being suppressed and repressed by that world. The critique of the patriarchy is very much still there , but it resonates in a larger context now about a free spirit , a woman of imagination , a woman of wit and irony , a woman of desires for a greatness being put in a box by a world that isn't really comfortable with that and the tragedy of the play that in 1891 results from men trying to control the the will and the life of a woman here looks more like a society trying to contain a free spirit and trying to put boundaries around a certain kind of imagination. And that's why the play is eternal , because we can all relate to feeling like my own specialness is being somehow sat upon by a world that is scared of it , or isn't interested in it.
S10: Well , one of the things I love about the play is Hedda Gabler is not a role model in the sense of being a perfect , flawless person. And the complexity is , I think , what makes her so interesting that she's not this person up on a pedestal.
S9: She is incredibly complicated , tough to live with , you know , like a difficult person to try and live in the same house with tyrant and also victim , bully and also sweetheart , sexually hungry and also demure. It's wild. The part. The part is really , really wild. The range of things that the character does and has to do over the course of the play , which is why it's a magnet for really major performers and why somebody of Katie's stature would want to have a go at it because it calls on everything , exposing your your deepest self , living with your nerves on the outside of your body , and also being sort of heroic and and charismatic at the same time. One of the things that's made clear very early in the play is that she used to head a used to ride through town on her chestnut horse , with her braids flying in the air behind her. And everybody , men and women alike , would just look at her and go gaga ! This extraordinary , like , goddess like figure in a small college town in the provinces. So you need someone who can manifest that kind of charisma and magnetism. And having Katie Holmes , it's just fits like a glove. She is. You cannot take your eyes off her when she's on stage. She has a glow inside her. That is very much pedas.
S10:
S9: But what we've done is we've responded to the impulse that Aaron , the adapter translator , has had , which is her script is very spare. So , as I said , we read the play in college in these Victorian translations that are extremely elaborate and have the sound of George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde , you know , long sentences with subordinate clauses. Erin has stripped it way down. She's really centralized it and made the language very , very spare. It's also short. And so we followed Aaron's lead and stripped stuff away. So we don't have an elaborate house with 8 million pieces of furniture and doilies and Victorian things and statues and portraits and stuff on the wall. We've stripped it way back. There's just a couch and nothing else. And the clothing the same. It's period clothing. But David Reynoso has sort of taken the silhouette and centralized it , stripped away all the frou frou. So while it's very much in the period , it has a contemporary sheen to it that I think makes it possible for audiences to relate to it without some layer of decor in between us and the people on stage.
S10:
S9: Although my career got started with a production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons , which is an Ibsen play. Miller said , I wanted to write an Ibsen play , and he studied Ibsen , and that play is very near and dear to my heart. And I'm recognizing now what a great student of Ibsen Miller was when he wrote that place. So I do feel like I've had some Ibsen adjacent experience because of that. But no , this is my first one and it's it's fun. I'm having a great time. What I love about it is Ibsen is really willing to have characters say to each other what they really mean. There's no politeness , there's no sheen of politeness about it. They just bluntly say , I don't like you , I hate you , you're being stupid right out in people's faces. And I'm really enjoying the kind of bluntness of it and the frankness of it and the in-your-face kind of nature of it. It's fun. It's exhilarating , even though it goes to some very , very sober places. It's really exhilarating to watch precisely for that reason , because the characters are outlandish and the things that they say to each other and do to each other , and it's got a kind of succession like tone to it , because everybody is so brutal with each other. That's actually kind of fun to watch in a in a strange way , I'm enjoying it very , very much.
S10: Since you are a Shakespeare scholar , you do Shakespeare a lot. How do you feel like the language in this version of Hedda Gabler compares to ? Kind of like what you've worked with , with actors , because you do extensive work with actors.
S9: And Aaron has , as I said , stripped it down in a way that's very essential. And pieces of it sound almost like Pinter or Beckett very , very , very , very spare. On the other hand , there are these sudden symbols that show up. There's a lot of talk about vine leaves once when she was younger , Hedda and her former lover made love in a garden and put vine leaves in her hair. And so in the middle of this very contemporary , very spare , very prosaic piece , suddenly there's an aria about vine leaves , which operates in the same kind of way that Shakespeare language does. You feel the register change , and suddenly there is a leap , a kind of reach for a more poetic level of expression. And that happens here in the same way that it doesn't Shakespeare. So I feel like I understand that , and it feels familiar to me.
S10: And you are currently just in rehearsals for Hedda Gabler. Are you discovering things as you go along in this that are changing anything about how you are seeing it or wanting to do things differently.
S9: At every single moment ? So one of the things about being a theatre director is that you prepare to do the play for a year alone , reading it , letting your imagination kind of run wild , and developing a series of hunches just guesses about what I think this is. Yeah , this feels like it's like this , and it it should be hot here and it should be cold here. And so you go into the room with a whole series of hunches about what you want it to be , and then you run into all of your collaborators. And they have imaginations as well. The designers , the actors , of course , the composer , the artisans who create the props and the costumes and the wigs. And everybody starts to come forward with their own ideas about a particular moment. And their ideas make for a cornucopia for the director to look at and enjoy. So you go from this very private experience that's almost like being a writer into this extremely collaborative experience. So yeah , every day I get to walk into this room full of hugely talented people and watch the creativity flourish and it's a joy.
S1: That was Beth Accomando speaking with the Globe's artistic director , Barry Edelstein. He's directing a new adaptation of Hedda Gabler that begins performances this Saturday , running through March 15th. Up next , Julia Dixon Evans joins us with your weekend preview. KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman for our weekend preview. We have classical music about animals , some unique ways to commemorate Black History Month and the year of the Fire Horse. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest , Julia Dixon Evans. Hey , Julia.
S11: Hey , Andrea. Thanks for having me.
S1: Great to see you. So let's start with the Lunar New Year coming up.
S11: So this weekend , convoy rising is kind of like the launch. Um , it's a night market style event. It's in the convoy district , which is the business center of San Diego's Asian American Pacific Islander community. And it's a collaborative project from a bunch of collectives and groups. Um , there's lion dancers , a firecracker ritual , and a bunch of traditional performances. And this is Sunday from 3 to 8 p.m.. I know it's a Super Bowl , and so do they. So a bunch of the businesses are going to be showing the game , including commentary on convoy.
S1: That's great. Well , I think Super Bowl Sunday is a great day to do different things and mix it up , but that's cool. They're showing it as well. So then there's in visual Art. We got a new special exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art , San Diego , with a little bit of a twist. Tell us about this one. Right.
S11: Right. This is their 2026 art auction. And even if you're not interested in the actual auction part , it's just a really cool chance to see this exhibit of a huge range of artists who have or had strong ties to the museum in particular , or San Diego during their careers. So there's some pretty big stars like John Baldessari , Ed Ruscha , Niki de San Fall , and also artists who are making notable work right now. Yan Pei Ming , who had an exhibit that just closed at the museum , and then more locals like Amy Adler , Perry Vasquez , a ton of artists. It's all on view right now , and it'll be up through the ticketed actual auction. It's like a special event on March 8th , but if you want to see the art for free , or at least for cheap , you have a couple of options. You ready ? You got your notebook out. Tomorrow is the first Friday Art walk in La Jolla and Museum. Admission is free from 4 to 6 p.m. , and you can also check out a bunch of other galleries and art spaces that are all within walking distance of the museum. Part of that first Friday art walk and then this Sunday is Museum of Contemporary Arts Play Day. It's a free family day that happens every month , and you not only get free admission for all ages. They even have kid friendly tours and art making activities throughout the the midday. And you can also get half price admission all through February because of San Diego Museum Month. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. So let's talk more about that. I mean , yeah , there's a lot happening with that this month.
S11: Right ? And this is the San Diego Museum Council. They put out a list of 70 something museums that give you half off admission during February. You can pick up a physical pass at any local library , the city libraries or the county libraries. Or you can download a digital pass through your phone and just show that. And it's not just museums. There's attractions as well. Like Legoland and the Birch Aquarium that are on there. And I mean , some of the museums on the list are like already free , but you can find some really good deals.
S1: That's great. Um , now moving on to music. The San Diego Symphony is performing a concert just for kids. A lot of kids stuff here this week. And that's Saturday morning.
S11:
S12: Besides Peter , played by the strings. There is the bird played by the flute. The duck by the oboe. The Cat by the clarinet.
S11: And they'll have a narrator during the event , which is really cool. I've heard that piece performed without a narrator as well. It's so it's great to have that , like , sort of go between for the kids. They'll play other.
S1: Nostalgia for the parents , too , I think. I mean , that's taken me back. Yeah.
S11: Um , and I'm an oboe player , so I always identify with. Really.
S1: Really.
S11: With ducks because of that. And they're going to play flight of the bumblebees. And now they're like fun animal peas. Um , yeah. It starts at 11 on Saturday at Jacobs Music Center.
S1: Very cool. And one more. The San Diego Public Library , they have some special events all month honoring Black History Month. You know , tell us some of the highlights.
S11: Yeah , there are film screenings around the county. Those start next week , but then there's a bunch of workshops , like a fabric mosaic project. This is a way of understanding the role of quilts in the Underground Railroad. It's led by Tosh Works. There's one Saturday morning at the University Heights Library. You can make a piece of art , and then there's a lecture series. It's weekly , a black tronic , a lecture led by King Britt , who's amazing , UC San Diego professor , music producer. And throughout the month , he'll kind of take you through his Black Chronica course , which traces like the black evolution and roots of electronic music , connecting it all to like the social political backdrops of the time and places where this , this music evolved. This starts this Saturday afternoon at three at the downtown library. And all of these , the San Diego Public Library events are free.
S1: So , you know , on top of all that , there's also a new podcast episode to listen to. And I want to talk to you a little bit about that. Your team just dropped new episode of The finest about Chula Vista Zone Jessica Jessica Sanchez.
S11: And then she came back 20 years later , just last year. And in between , she also went on , American Idol famously came in second to Phillip Phillips. A lot of people have big feelings about that in San Diego , but she became this hometown idol , especially in the South Bay. And KPBS reporter Corey Suzuki worked on this story with us , which was a treat. He kind of takes us behind the scenes , um , behind like this public face that we have of Jessica Sanchez , because as quickly as she rose to fame , the pressure , the expectations all took a toll and she withdrew from the spotlight. So we're going to start partway through where she , uh , she was telling us about going on America's Got Talent that first time. So we'll let Corey and Jessica take it from here.
S13: I try my best.
S14: You did a great job , and I.
S15: I was completely devastated. I was just in tears. A ten year old that , like , had been winning all of these local competitions like , you know , get slapped with reality in an instant. I was like , okay , this is what I want to do. And I feel like I am able to do this if I work at it. And if I if I continue to fight for this and , and see where it takes me.
S16: Jessica tried everything she could. She auditioned for other reality TV singing competitions like the X factor. Her mom helped her get on YouTube , where she posted covers of Beyonce and Bruno Mars from her bedroom.
S17: When I see her face.
S16: Some went viral , but none led to a breakthrough. Then Jessica and her mom were watching another TV singing competition.
S18: The next American Idol is.
S16: American Idol when they heard an announcement.
S15: At the end of the show. They were like , we're going to come to San Diego for auditions for next season. And me and my mom were like , oh my gosh , this is this is our chance.
S16: Jessica was 16. She auditioned at Petco Park.
S19: You made me feel so good inside and inside , and I just.
S16: Jessica captivated the judges and the country. She made it to the second round. Then the third.
S19: You take in my heart and I give you Lord Tatsuya.
S20: Everybody is feeling the heat. Including our youngest contestant from San Diego , Jessica Sanchez.
S21: That was an American Idol fan for. For years. Um , and and so I remember her. She just looked kind of like picture perfect.
S16: Back home , everyone was watching , including Anna. Jessica sounded great , but Anna felt like something was missing.
S21: There's a difference between when you perform for yourself and you share from your heart what this gift is versus I have a talent and I'm going to perform. I mean , we observe it here at Osaka , the same thing. We want them to feel the soul of the dance rather than saying , okay , we teach you these movements over and over again , but get to the soul and the heart of the dance. So in a way , I felt that Jessica was more on the performance side. She looked , you know , she looked great. She sounded great. She had a powerful voice , but there was probably something missing.
S16: Still , Jessica made it all the way to the final two.
S22: The winner of American Idol Season 11 is. Phillip Phillips.
S15: I was so close to winning , I came in , I came in second , which is huge. Being 16 years old , I cannot believe how far I made it on that , that show. That was that was crazy.
S16: Jessica had lost another competition , but this time she had won something to her breakout moment. That summer , she signed her first record deal. She performed the national anthem for Memorial Day on the West lawn of the US Capitol and for an NBA finals game in Oklahoma City.
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S15:
S16: In many ways , it was everything she had been working towards , but it also wasn't quite what she had imagined.
S15: I got lost in it all and I started really doubting myself. And this was kind of like where it was a downhill road for me.
S16:
S1: Org. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thanks so much.
S11: Thank you. Andrea.
S1: That's our show for today. Thanks for joining us. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. Have a great day and we'll catch you next time.
